


Playing With Chemistry

by fourdrunksluts



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Office, Bottom Michael Clifford, Car Sex, Dirty Talk, M/M, Riding, Sexual Tension, Teasing, Top Ashton Irwin, Unprofessional Work Etiquette, escape room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:28:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fourdrunksluts/pseuds/fourdrunksluts
Summary: As if it didn't matter in the first place, Michael shrugs. "Well when you get that giant paycheck, just remember that I'm a big fan of Japanese food, and that I love going on dates with escape room managers that have big brains and big dicks." Ashton hums, finding it difficult to not start smirking."If only you liked Directors of Operations instead." He shakes his head as though he's let down. "I almost meet the criteria. Just one short.""Then I fear that you don't deserve my love," Michael says, but he's smiling the way he does when something goes his way - like when his favorite snacks are stocked double or his room track for the night lines up perfectly with his favorite podcast getting uploaded - open and delighted.-It's the busiest week of the year at the escape room Ashton manages, and it's hard enough without Michael Clifford tempting him at every turn.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Calum Hood, Michael Clifford/Ashton Irwin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 110





	Playing With Chemistry

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from _Classic_ by The Knocks feat. POWERS
> 
> This is very loosely based off of my three years working in an escape room.

🗝

_9.45 pm_

Not for the first time tonight, Ashton finds himself sitting alone in the front office as everyone else is in the back, running rooms or resetting them. He's staring through the open cutout in the wall into the empty welcoming room as he waits for his scheduling program to open. Technically, he doesn't need to start making the next schedule until Wednesday, but two weeks from now is Hell Week, the busiest five days this escape room sees outside of Christmastime. 

The past three years of Ashton's life have been spent working full time at _Escape!_ He'd been out with some friends one night when they'd discovered what an escape room was, and he'd been intrigued from the start. Being locked inside of a room for an hour with only one way out and a laundry list of clues to solve seemed like the kind of brainfood activity that Ashton was into. 

Somehow one visit, one runthrough of _Teeth_ , their dentistry themed room, was enough to have him applying for a job. He started out as a game master, just sitting in the control room, sending hints to the players in the room. From there, he was quickly promoted to assistant manager, a position he held until two months ago when he was promoted to Director of Operations, a title that has very little excitement compared to what the game masters do, but the pay makes it worth it to spend his time up front. His assistant manager position was handed off to Luke, someone who was relatively new to the staff, and everyone was surprised when it happened. All things said, Luke's actually killing it. He's pretty hard working if not a little ditzy. 

Despite the long, twelve-hour days and exhausting rhetoric, answering the same 'What _Is_ An Escape Room?' style questions every day, this is Ashton's favorite job - that _he's_ held, at least. The owner of the shop buys them dinner more often than not, not to mention that the control room is always stocked with snacks, and Ashton's coworkers are among the coolest, dumbest, best people he's ever met. He hates to say it, but he definitely finds himself favoring three specific employees - they're the best on the team, killing it night after night, bouncing off of each other's energy, keeping the players happy and making sure every close is as perfect as the opening was. 

This dynamic is going to come in handy during Hell Week, too. 

April 28, or as it's come to be known by the employees - Hell Week - is the beginning date of a five day stretch where Todd, the owner of _Escape!_ marks down every room 75% off. What was once thirty dollars per person now becomes just under eight. It's an incredible deal, one Ashton would take advantage of if he didn't work here and help design all of their current rooms, but it means that for a solid five days, every single room is booked. 

Last year, aside from a few broken props and a late group or two, everything went perfectly. They had a full staff, all seven employees trading off days smoothly, and it was a pretty flawless time. It's a little different this year, though. April 28 falls on a week in which only four employees can work - four employees that have to pull five continuous twelve-hour shifts. It's tough, and Ashton's not sure how to break it to his crew. 

One thing is for certain, though… He's going to need to call a staff meeting before he sends them the busiest schedule they've ever seen. 

The _Escape!_ communication app _dings_ to signal an emergency message from one of the game masters. Ashton picks his phone off the table to see ' **DirtyCliffo** ' in red, Michael's handle - one that Todd _cannot_ know he chose. A quick look at the track - a color-coded list showing which game master is running which room at any given time - tells Ashton that Michael's resetting _Castaway_ , their deserted island room, so he grabs his phone and heads down the hallway. 

When he opens the door, he's not sure what he's expecting, but seeing a sullen-faced Michael pouting on the floor in front of what was supposed to be a hideaway stone, a prop that they have a clue hidden in, isn't it. Michael's legs are kicked out childishly in front of him as he holds two pieces of the split rock, and Ashton sighs. Players never realize just how expensive these things are. 

"They broke it," Michael whines, holding his hands out to show Ashton the jagged lines where it broke. 

"We have a back up." That's the biggest part of Ashton's job, to stock their replacement bins, to be certain that every single item has a replacement or something similar to stand in its place while still holding onto the theme. It's exactly why he's a little upset at the sight of the broken prop - the rocks are expensive, and he hates having to constantly be buying them. They may have to start searching for an alternative method that won't break as easily. "I can order a few more tonight so we have them just in case this happens again." Which it will. 

Pulling the rock closer to himself, Michael tilts his head as he studies the prop. "We can't just Gorilla Glue it?" He asks. "That works for everything else." 

They keep a strong adhesive in the front office for when boxes break, or when props snap with a clean, definitive line. People often get aggressive in the rooms, their minds not doing well to keep calm in a pressing situation, and there are multiple times a week in which Ashton and his Gorilla Glue are patching up small things in the rooms. 

Ashton chuckles as he imagines the very obvious seam in the plastic of the stone, and how it would just deceive the players into breaking it open again. "It would show a crack." Michael rolls his eyes at the explanation, but Ashton ignores him. "Hand me the rock, and I'll grab you the replacement." 

"Thank you!" Michael beams as he hands the two stone halves to Ashton. Determinedly, Ashton keeps himself from thinking about how cute Michael looks when his two front teeth are on display, just the slightest hint of an overbite that makes the usually crude guy look innocent and - dare he say - adorable. "Should I write about this in my paperwork?" 

Thinking about it for a moment, Ashton shakes his head. "I'll put it in tonight's weekly review." 

Every week, Ashton types out a full review regarding the event of the week. It includes stand out moments, high scoring groups, ideas from the team, and anything Todd would need to know as the owner and operator of the business. Each game master has their own sheet of simplified paperwork that holds the same information, but only as it pertains to the rooms they run. Todd reads those as well, which is why Ashton has to talk to his coworkers twice a week, reminding them not to draw realistic dicks on the corner. 

"Thank you, Ashton Irwin." Michael's following sigh is dramatic, dragging out of him like it took all of the energy from his body. "You are a God among men." He sticks his arms out, and his hands start making a grabbing motion at Ashton. "Please help me up." With a sigh, Ashton reaches down to pull Michael up. He holds in a laugh when Michael stumbles, Ashton _definitely_ using more force than necessary. "Hey…"

"What?" 

Michael's eyes flick downward between them with a teasing grin. "We're holding hands." 

"Seems we are." Ashton brings Michael's hand up and kisses it, playing his side of the game that's been going on between them for the past year, this round of flirty-chicken that's never going to end if Ashton has anything to say about it - he enjoys the game too much. Michael rolls his eyes, pulling his hand away. 

"God, you ruin everything," he complains, but he's blushing. 

Letting his laughter lead the way, Ashton goes into the stock room and looks on the _Castaway_ shelf, grabbing the last rock. He opens the package, removes the dummy key that comes with it and brings it to Michael, making sure the first thing he does when he gets back to his computer is order a new package of fake rocks. Then he goes back to the schedule with a groan. 

Hell Week is coming too quickly. 

_10.23 pm_

In the midst of Ashton hosting in the last game of the night - a task that requires making the players sign waivers, playing them an informational video on the rules, and having them lock their phones and personal belongings away - Michael's group escapes. They all come marching into the welcoming room, rowdy and excited, cheering and jumping. It's a little sooner than anticipated, but nothing Ashton can't handle. 

That is, at least, until the _Escape_ ! app _dings_ with an emergency message from the control room. The user handle reads ' **Voodoo_Doll** ' which is the room he believes Luke's running, their horror themed room. 

"Ash," Calum yells from the lobby. "I can't get the video to work!" 

It's a lot of chaos, spiralling from every angle all at once, and Ashton knows if he wasn't accustomed to this, if he was still new to the store, if he was _Luke_ , he'd be letting this get to him. But he's trained for this, he's done this many times, and he's good at it. He zones himself out, focusing on the matters at hand, and takes care of each issue with ease. 

At the end of it, he falls into the chair in his office with a groan. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"You have a big brain," Michael answers listlessly as he puts his reset papers away. "It's a curse."

"It _is_ a curse." Ashton's being dramatic with it, throwing his arm over his eyes. It wasn't anything compared to how bad it's going to be in two weeks, but he still feels drained. "Doctors say I'll die before I'm thirty." 

From the other side of the office, accompanying the _slam_ of the giant cabinet door, Michael snorts. "That's clearly not happened, seeing as you've effortlessly made it to ninety. Congratulations on defying the odds." Ashton grins to himself, easy to please when Michael's giving it back as good as he gets it. "You _do_ handle everything really well, though. You’re so quick to act, and you never feel stressed until afterwards. Luke always looks two seconds from crying when there's an issue." 

"I have a high capacity for the stress of this place." And it's true. In any other situation, Ashton's quick to snap, but when he's here, he's able to distance himself from the issues at hand. 

There's a lull in the conversation, a silence in the office, and when Ashton takes his arm away from his eyes, he sees Michael pursing his lips, staring at Ashton. "It's because you make double what we do, isn't it?" 

"I am neither confirming nor denying that." 

As if it didn't matter in the first place, Michael shrugs. "Well when you get that giant paycheck, just remember that I'm a big fan of Japanese food, and that I love going on dates with escape room managers that have big brains and big dicks." Ashton hums, finding it difficult to not start smirking.

"If only you liked Directors of Operations instead." He shakes his head as though he's let down. "I almost meet the criteria. Just one short." 

"Then I fear that you don't deserve my love," Michael says, but he's smiling the way he does when something goes his way - like when his favorite snacks are stocked double or his room track for the night lines up perfectly with his favorite podcast getting uploaded - open and delighted. 

"I fear the same thing." 

_11.57 pm_

The end of the night comes easier than the evening went. Calum and Luke are resetting the rooms, wiping them down and making sure everything is perfect for Tuesday's opening, while Michael restocks the control room with paperwork, snacks, and pens - somehow they've managed to lose three boxes worth in just a week. Ashton's typing out the weekly paperwork to Todd, trying to include all of the hijinx from the chaos of a thirteenth birthday party in _Voodoo Doll_. One by one, everyone comes back to the welcoming room, visible to Ashton through the wall cutout as they stretch across the freshly-vacuumed floor. 

"You almost done, Ash?" Calum asks, stopping to yawn right afterwards. Michael curls up with his head on Calum's lap as he does. "Some of us have lives." 

A quick look at the time on the bottom right corner of the computer screen has Ashton laughing. "It's midnight," he points out. "What kind of nightlife do you have?" 

"Me and Luke were going to binge horror movies," Calum explains, and Ashton snorts again. 

"Luke's going to pass out ten minutes into the first one." 

Next to Michael, leaning back on the worn, leather bench, Luke nods, movements slow with exhaustion. "He's right… I'm pooped." Calum groans, throwing his head back into the open air behind him. 

Ashton continues typing away at his keyboard, filling the outline thoroughly as he approaches the end of it. When he finally ends with information about a new high score in _Airplanes_ , their room themed like an airplane cabin, he pushes himself away from the counter and claps his hands together once. The noise is sudden in the quiet room, and he grins when he sees Luke jumping with it, appearing to be waking himself up. 

"Let's get through this then." He approaches the counter that goes through the wall cutout, leaning against it as he looks down at the game masters. "Todd is sending out the 75% off coupons _Monday_ for the week of the 28th. Connie is going to be stuck at school for finals week, and Rae is still out with family. Other than us, Arnie's is the only available game master, but he's part time, so he can't pull twelve hours." 

"So…" 

"So it's just us four pulling a 60 hour week," Ashton breaks the news to them. 

Now looking wide awake but devastated, Luke gapes, jaw dropped open. "Ash, dude, I can't do that." 

"That’s _so_ many hours, man," Calum moans, head lolling back again. "I won't be getting _any_ beauty sleep." 

It's the exact response he was expecting, and it's a deserved reaction. The workload is a bit much, but it comes with some benefits that he thinks might sway them. "We'll be getting overtime pay, and Todd is catering dinner every night," he explains. "Plus everybody gets an added vacation day."

They all look hesitant but then Luke shakes his head. "Alright, fine," he begrudgingly agrees for them, sitting up a bit. "I want good food though. Not Maccas's or anything cheap." 

" _Yeah,_ " Calum agrees, still frowning, but looking more open to the idea. "If I'm not eating steak and lobster every night, I want Ashton to eat my _ass_." It's the kind of back and forth Ashton's become accustomed to working with these four, so he doesn't bat an eye. 

"I'll put it on the schedule after I suck Michael's dick." 

From his resting place in Calum's lap, Michael hums appreciatively. "That's considerate, but I also would like _my_ ass eaten." 

“Alright so." Ashton reaches for his pencil and scribbles gibberish on a blank post-it sitting on the counter. “Alongside the double time and free dinners, everybody's getting rimmed then." It's just a bunch of loops and scribbles. He points his pencil across the room. "Luke, are you alright with these parameters?" 

"Sounds reasonable," Luke agrees through another yawn. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah, be free." 

As he waves his hand to the door, gesturing for them to leave, Calum tosses his keys to Luke. "Wait for me in the car, Lukey." Luke salutes him before he and Michael run out the door. Michael blows Ashton a kiss as he goes. Calum approaches Ashton as he's shutting the computer down. "So when are you and Michael finally going to fuck?" 

The question comes suddenly, out of nowhere, and Ashton snorts. "When hell freezes over." 

"Climate change is a very serious issue, Ashton," Calum reprimands him, eyebrows dipping as he speaks. Ashton rolls his eyes. "I’m not joking, dude. You can’t make it through a conversation without mentioning it, and _he’s_ ten times worse in the control room. ‘ _Where’s Ashton? Why isn’t he in here? Why aren’t we in love yet_?’ Man sounds like a Nora Ephron film back there."

"Who’s Nora Ephron?"

Calum waves his hand. "Shut up, it doesn’t matter…" It looks like that’s all he’s going to say, but then it seems like he _needs_ to explain. "She’s a rom-com director Mali’s a big fan of, it’s fine." Ashton grins to himself. "So when are you going to suck his dick for real?" 

Shaking his head, Ashton reaches over and flips the light switch. "It's not like that with us. We're just friends." 

"Just friends who talk about fucking daily."

"You literally _just_ told me to eat your ass," Ashton reminds him. 

The most frustrating thing about this game he and Michael play is Luke and Calum's insistence that it's something _more_ . Ashton and Michael are just comfortable in each other's presence, that's all. Maybe Ashton finds him to be infuriatingly pretty, but other than an occasional fleeting thought when he has a hand around himself in the shower, that's all it is. The moment it becomes more, the moment Ashton develops feelings and there becomes _intention_ behind his flirting, that's when things get messy. 

Until then, it's all in good fun. 

"But that was _clearly_ a joke," Calum argues. Ashton gives him a shove to the shoulder, trying to push him out the door. "When Michael said it, his voice got all deep and he looked at you all…" He trails himself off, moving his eyes up and down suggestively a few times. 

"Okay." 

"Ash - "

"Since you're _so_ interested in work-relationships," Ashton cuts him off. He makes sure he has his backpack on and his keys in his pocket before reaching over to type his code into the alarm pad. "Why don't _you_ suck Michael's dick?"

Without hesitating for even a moment, Calum shrugs and says, "Because I'm already sucking Luke's." The alarm starts beeping loudly to signal it's activation, and Calum walks out of the front door without another word, leaving Ashton slack-jawed from the shock of his life. 

"… _what?!"_

Ashton walks out the door to see Calums standing on the sidewalk with his arms crossed. He rolls his eyes when Ashton questions why he'd be doing that for their assistant manager "We've been dating for like a month, asshole." He leaves, and Ashton's left alone, mind blown, wondering when the fuck he lost touch with his associates. 

🔒

**Day One**

_10.49 am_

Hell Week has arrived with no care for Ashton’s mental state. He’s opening the store alone this morning, letting everyone come in a little late, just to give them their last bit of rest before they’re stuck here for more than half the day _every_ day. 

Halfway down the checklist, as Ashton’s pouring water into the tank on the coffee machines in the lobby, Michael and Calum come running into the store, all giggles, as they race back to the control room to put their things away. Ashton lets out a sigh of relief, happy to have some relief from the morning tasks, it was a bit of a rush, and they only have twenty minutes before the first group is set to show up. 

“Luke’s bus was late,” Calum’s voice sounds from down the hall. “He’ll be here in ten.”

“Thank you!” Ashton shouts back. He can hear the keyboard clicking away, signalling them clocking in on the computer. Not long after, Calum waltzes into the lobby, grabbing the remotes from where they’re velcroed to the wall. He turns on the television, and Calum steps away from the coffee. “Hey, I’m going to print out the schedule for the day and start assigning tracks, can you set up the coffee pots and finish the opening duties?” 

“Sure thing, boss,” Calum agrees, his smile looking too big for his face. “Want me to get your shins while I’m licking your boots down there?”

Ashton glares but Calum just smiles even wider, opening the bottom drawer of the coffee station to finish the list off. Ashton leaves him to it, going into the office as Michael’s clocking in. “Wanna wipe down the rooms for me, Michael?”

“There’s a lot I’d do for you.” 

It’s said easily, offhandedly, like it’s second-nature, and Ashton can’t help but grin. He shakes his head and sits at the computer to print off the schedule. As he’s grabbing highlighters to assign rooms, Michael wanders over and puts his chin on Ashton’s shoulder, his breath fanning across Ashton’s skin, blowing the hair around his ears. “Can I help you?” 

“Would you want to put me on the second track?” With the question, Michael’s voice tilts up. He doesn’t naturally have a deep voice, but this is lighter, airy. “I want to start with _Airplanes_.” There’s nothing particularly intriguing about their airplane cabin themed room, so Ashton hums. 

“Why would I do that?” 

Rubbing his face into Ashton’s shoulder, Michael explains, “So I could have the five o'clock break.” When Ashton doesn’t immediately give in, Michael’s voice gets even higher, breathier, as he whines, “ _Please_ , Ashton. I’ll do anything you want.”

And Ashton’s not naive, he knows this is just a part of the game, and that encouraging the pleasing note to Michael’s tone probably isn’t smart if Ashton doesn’t want to lose, but he can’t help it when Michael sounds like a fucking dream sighing in his ear, telling Ashton he’ll bend to his will like it’s nothing. “Anything?”

“God, _anything._ ” Michael’s lips purse, and then he’s placing a gentle kiss at the curve of Ashton’s neck. “I’ll be so good for you.” Ashton hums, and Michael wraps his arms around Ashton’s torso, nuzzling into his shoulder, watching as Ashton picks up the green highlighter he assigned to Michael and highlights the first _Airplanes_ room. Michael makes a cheerful noise in his throat and then kisses Ashton’s cheek loudly. He pulls away and goes to grab the disinfectant wipes from the large cupboard, and Ashton stares at him. Michael notices after a few seconds. “What?”

“You sound pretty when you beg,” Ashton tells him, letting his eyes narrow just slightly. “Your voice gets higher and you sigh a bit. When can you do it again for me?”

Michael rolls his eyes. “Keeping the fantasy alive, I see.”

“Always.” Ashton doesn’t mention the grin Michael has on his blushing face as he heads down the hallway to the rooms. 

_2.36 pm_

The group of players for the two-fifty game in _Voodoo Doll_ came thirty minutes earlier than their call time, so Ashton has them waiting in the lobby, playing with some of the brain puzzles they have laid out. They’ve watched the video, signed their waivers, and come up with an awesome team name already - they just have to wait for Calum to reset his last room before they can go in.

As they wait, Ashton's sorting through the worksheets that the game masters have turned in so far today, and he stops to laugh when he sees a crude doodle Calum drew. He sets the sheet aside for him to rewrite at the end of the night to keep him from getting in trouble with Todd. Before he can go back to the rest of the pile, there's an emergency message coming through the system, buzzing in from the _Castaway_ computer. Ashton grabs his phone and rushes in the back. 

He's met with the sight of a stressed Luke fisting his hair. Michael's at the computer behind him, turned around in his seat, looking on sympathetically. "Hey, what's going on?" Ashton asks, confused about what the emergency is if nobody looks panicked. "Is everything okay."

Luke sighs, pulling his hand from his hair, his rings getting caught on a few of his curls. "They broke the belt, dude. We don't have a backup."

"What do you mean they _broke_ it?" The thought that somebody managed to snap the thick leather of the belt seemed pretty inconceivable to Ashton, which is exactly why he never thought to buy a backup. "How do you just break a belt? Did someone try and put it on or something?"

"No, but they thought they had to snap the buckle off to escape." The players in the room ask for a hint, giggling as they do, and Luke scoffs as he sends one off to them.

"Fucking _idiots_ ," Ashton bites, content that he won't be heard through the soundproof walls.

The video explicitly tells them they don't have to break anything. It's the reason why they make them watch the video before they're even allowed in the room. Setting that aside, the belt itself had zero writing on it yet, nothing indicating a use for it, which anybody should know means that they don't need it yet. There's a blacklight in the room that they need to find to reveal the clue written on the leather - the purpose of the belt. The players in the room are just reckless, and there's nothing Ashton hates more than reckless people. 

He thinks fast for a solution. "Okay, if it's just the buckle, I'll have Calum sew a velcro strip onto the belt during his next room, and I'll glue a strip to the buckle."

"That's going to fuck up future rooms, Ash," Michael tells him. He's straddling his chair, actively listening to Luke and Ashton's situation, neglecting his room. Ashton would reprimand him, but they're in the midst of a puzzle in _Vapor_ , their zoology lab, so he thinks they're probably safe. "People will think it means something." 

"It'll have to do until I can get to the store to buy a new one." Typically he orders everything online, but if a group managed to break this belt, Ashton needs to find one a bit more durable that can still be written on with the blackout marker. "I might be able to stop before I open tomorrow."

The rustling of paper sounds and Ashton looks down to see the control room's copy of the room tracks on the keyboard in front of Luke. "We only have five more rooms left for the day in _Castaway_ , so if we just lead them away from the belt until they need it…"

"Exactly." Ashton claps his hands together once, happy that everything is settled. "Now, to figure out what I'm gonna do with a broken belt."

"You could bend me over the counter in the office and spank me like you're always promising." Michael sounds completely innocent, his face void of any mischief, so Ashton gives it back, frowning to keep the smile from his face.

"Baby, you know when that happens, it'll be with my hand, so I can feel your skin turning red." 

The tension holds for a moment between them for a moment and then Michael and Ashton are grinning at each other. Michael winks and turns back to work like nothing happened. When Ashton looks back to Luke, still smiling to himself, his assistant manager is cringing up at him. "Ew." 

Ashton swats his arm. "You're demoted."

"I barely do my job anyway, bro." 

_5.23 pm_

After hosting the last group out, a task which includes taking a picture of the players holding a silly sign, and promoting the social media pages for _Escape!_ , Ashton gets a message from Todd, inquiring about everybody's dinner orders. Typically, Ashton would already have that written down, but with how chaotic things have already been today, he didn't find the time. 

Abandoning the paperwork he was trying to sort through, Ashton makes his way into the control room, opening the door to find Calum and Luke invested in their rooms. "How's everything going back here?"

"They found the secret tunnel in like ten minutes, man," Calum laughs as he scribbles down on his worksheet. "They'll be out early."

" _Really_ ." It's not phrased like a question, but Ashton's still asking, a bit of bewilderment in his voice. In _Castaway,_ the average time for getting through the tunnel is forty minutes into the game - ten minutes is grounds for a high score. "How many hints did they ask for?"

"Not one."

That's fucking impressive. "That's incredible," he tells Calum, who grins, continuing to watch his players with rapt attention. "Todd wants everybody's orders for dinner tonight. I was thinking of Chipotle."

Luke groans from his seat in front of the computer monitor for _Vapor_ , throwing his head back in his seat. "We have that _all_ the time, bro," he contains, body continuing to hang backwards limply. "Like honestly _all_ the time. I'm pretty sure I shit guacamole last night."

"That's a perfect visual," Ashton deadpans, trying to keep himself from gagging. "Thank you, Lukey." 

"Why don't we just get Ralphio's?" Calum offers. He's still not looking away from his screen; meanwhile, Luke's started shooting finger guns towards the ceiling… one of them is the assistant manager. "Pizza for night one, so Todd starts suggesting higher end food by Saturday?"

Ashton snorts at the manipulative strategy, but starts typing a draft order for them. "I'm fine with Ralphio's, but he's going to make us get personal pizzas." Luke shrugs as Ashton writes out his own green pepper and mushroom pizza. 

"Fine by me." 

Glancing over to the security camera, Ashton sees Michael in _Voodoo Doll_ , dancing around. Ashton assumes he's turned on music from his phone, and is rocking out. Suddenly feeling mischievous, Ashton sits down in the game master chair and begins typing a message to send through. 

"What are you doing?" Calum wonders, his voice close to Ashton's ear as he finally looks away from his game to see what Ashton's sending, laughing as Ashton types: ‘ _Todd's buying dinner. We can either get personal pizzas or I can lay you out on the table and use my mouth for something better._ ’ He doesn’t even have time to lift his finger before Calum’s saying, “You're the biggest tease I've ever met, Ashton Irwin.” 

Reading the message over, Ashton can’t help but laugh. Even for him, it’s a bit much. “I wasn't going to send it.” 

“Yes you are,” Luke snorts. He hasn’t read the screen himself, still hanging backwards over his chair. 

“No, I’m - ” Ashton doesn’t get to finish his denial before Calum’s hand is slamming down on the enter key, sending the message to the screen in the room with a loud horn scream-sound, in theme with the horror of the room. “ _Dude_!” 

Not looking even the slightest bit guilty, Calum shrugs. “You wouldn't have typed it if you didn't want to send it,” he says matter-of-factly, ignoring Ashton’s glare. “You're welcome.” His gaze flickers to the security screen before turning his attention back to his game. 

Looking at the monitor again, Ashton catches a glimpse of Michael looking down at the resetting checklist, bottom lip clenched between his teeth as he focuses his attention a little too heavily somewhere other than the screen. Ashton feels a bit hot under the collar when he sees the reaction his message received. Michael's an attractive guy, that isn’t news to anybody with eyes, and seeing him react to the words makes Ashton feel good, confident, maybe a little cocky, but he persists that things between them aren’t sexual, aren’t motivated and heading somewhere. It’s just not like that. 

It's _not._

“What do you want on your pizza?” Ashton asks, forcing his brain to go anywhere else. 

“Pineapple.”

“Pepperoni. 

Writing it into his message to Todd, Ashton nods. He walks to the door, taking a moment to push Luke up properly in his seat so the blood doesn’t rush to his head any worse than it already has. Since his message didn’t get a response, Ashton stops outside of _Voodoo Doll_ , opening the door slowly. “Hey.” Ashton notices Michael’s still a bit red when he looks up curiously. “What are we ordering for you?”

“What you offered didn’t sound bad at all.” Michael’s voice is just hardly deeper than usual, a little hoarse, and Ashton feels his cheeks going warm. He clears his throat. 

“I'm not on the table just yet.”

Michael shrugs, not looking too bothered. “Mushrooms and bacon, then,” he orders. “I'll wait for the other part.”

“So patient,” Ashton says tenderly, forcing himself to smile and not let the strings between them pull any tighter. It’s all a part of the game, Ashton tells himself as he sends their orders off to Todd. 

_7.41 pm_

On his way back inside from running the garbage to the dumpster, an emergency message _dings_ on the _Escape!_ app from ‘ **Airplanes** ,’ so Ashton takes a pump from the hand sanitizer sitting on the counter in the wall cutout and makes his way back. He opens the door and has to rush to slip inside and shut it behind him. 

“YOU'RE SO FUCKING STUPID WHAT THE FUCK,” Michael’s yelling as Ashton comes in, his voice having been masked by the soundproof door - a feature that was added in for this precise moment. 

“What's happening?” 

“They're so goddamn stupid,” he shouts, throwing his pen at the wall. It bounces off and lands in the corner - explaining what must happen to most of their pens in this control room. “My mind is fucking blown. This guy says he's a _doctor_ ,” Michael starts pointing at the screen insistently, eyes focused on how Ashton’s reacting. “How is that possible? In what world can _that_ man operate on my body but not figure out how to operate a fucking _door_.” 

Ashton snorts. Now that he knows it’s not an _emergency_ , he relaxes a bit. They should've been through the door twenty minutes ago based on the time, but it’s nothing a few nudges can’t do for them. "Here, let's walk them through it.” 

Leaning down, Ashton wraps his arms around Michael’s to use the computer alongside him. His head goes against Michael’s, hovering just over his shoulder as he takes a look at the screen to figure out where they are in the room. He begins to type nudging clues for it, mumbling what he's leading them towards as narration. 

Due to the inability of the players to comprehend even the most obvious of clues, it takes them a solid five minutes to get through the door - nearly a half hour late. Michael turns to Ashton before he leans back, whispering a soft, “Thank you…” 

Ashton hums, kissing behind his ear and down his neck - fours times he presses his lips to skin. “I’m up front if you need anything, baby. “ 

_11.38 pm_

As Calum is seeing the last group out, Ashton rushes to print out tomorrow's track, excited to get out of the store as soon as possible after the first of five extremely long days. He’s still waiting for Luke to finish his reset, but he was almost done when Ashton went back to check on him. 

It’s not long after the final players of the night are walking out of the store - and Ashton’s aligning his computer set-up perfectly - that Luke runs up, wrapping his hands behind Calum’s neck to drag him into a kiss that has them both pulling away giggling. 

“Alright, I'm ready,” he announces, turning to Ashton with his eyes shining. “Let's go.” 

“Where's _my_ kiss?” Michael demands to know, staring directly at Ashton with an eyebrow raise. Before Ashton can react, can make a comment that Calum will later argue is far from platonic, Luke leans over giggling and kisses Michael's cheek wetly. It’s not what he was asking for, but he’s laughing along Luke as he wipes his cheek down.

And it saves Ashton from saying something far from appropriate.

🔒

**Day Two**

_10.02 am_

Ashton pulls up to Luke’s house as he’s locking his front door - perfect timing, if Ashton says so himself. Luke sighs in relief, throwing himself in the front seat and letting the door slam shut beside him. “Thank you for picking me up. I can't do the bus on a 60 hour week, that's just - ”

“It's not a problem, Lukey,” Ashton tells him, pulling away from the curb and making his way down the street. “It's not even out of my way.” Luke nods. “It's not out of Michael’s either, so he can drive you too this week.” 

“It's out of Calum's way, but I don't mind sleeping over there.” Luke’s grinning to himself, bopping slightly in the seat, and Ashton snorts. 

“I'm sure you don't.” He rolls his eyes playfully, turning the wheel with a slight grin. Luke stares at him as he does, not removing his eyes until Ashton asks, “What?” 

“You just act awfully smug about my relationship with Calum when you and Michael are in a league of your own,” Luke says, an air of certainty around him like he understands even an inkling of Michael and Ashton’s extremely platonic game. Ashton scrunches his nose, turning to yell at Luke, but is cut off before he even speaks. “Eyes on the road.” So Ashton refocuses. “And don’t give me that look. Calum and I keep it professional every day. You and Michael are one bad group away from straddling each other on the office floor.”

The imagery, while not at all terrible, in Ashton’s opinion, is far from the truth. They both have restraint. “Bro, that's such an exaggeration. We're just _like_ that. Our friendship is just a lot of jokes.”

“I was kept up late last night by texts from Cal,” Luke tells him, adjusting himself in his seat to face Ashton’s side more directly. “Complaining that the rest of his shift after we left was spent with Michael moaning about how much of a tease you are.” Ashton doesn't _want_ to feel smug about it, but he definitely does. The fact that he got under Michael's skin feels like a point of pride, a victory. “You _love_ that, don't you?” 

“No, no,” he denies, grinning as he shakes his head. “I'm smiling because that's all a part of our friendly - ”

“Shut up, you both are fucking stupid.” Luke slumps in his seat, and Ashton laughs, pulling off the highway. 

_2.02 pm_

During the first real moment of calm since Luke and Ashton opened this morning, Ashton allows himself some time to breathe. He’s sitting in the room resting as Calum takes his group into _Castaway_ , trying to enjoy this quick break, when Michael comes into the office and smiles coyly. “Hey, _Ashy_.” Had he said any other nickname, maybe Ashton would be more susceptible to his charms, but as it stands he’s completely turned off. 

“I know you think that's a cute nickname to bargain me with, but it isn't.” 

“Well then what can i call you to make you bend to my will?” His eyelashes flutter delicately with the words, and though it’s done in an over-embellished manner, he still looks like a kitten, and Ashton has to turn away so he doesn’t do something ridiculously and uncalled for like sigh longingly or _smile_. 

“Nothing,” Ashton says. “You bend to _mine,_ remember _?_ ” Michael frowns, and Ashton eases up only slightly - just because his pout is a manipulating force. “Okay, I'll bend to your will today only. What do you need?” 

Michael holds his lock-checking paperwork up - a worksheet used to verify that every lock in the room is secure - and starts handing it to Ashton. “Can you check my locks for me? I'm paranoid.”

As much as Ashton wants to say no, feeling like he’s stepping into some sort of trap, he’s not allowed to. This is literally his job, and if he were to say no and something in the room was unlocked, it’d mean big trouble for him. With narrowed eyes, suspicious as he’s ever been, Ashton takes the papers from Michael and heads back into the room. He picks up the first lock and a laugh is shocked out of him at what he sees. 

The first lock, along with every other lock in the room, is lined up to spell a dirty word, or a crude combination of numbers. It’s funny, Ashton will admit that, more humorous than sexual, and it’s even creative how he used the numbers in the final lock to spell ‘MST3RB8.’ He leaves the room in better spirits than he entered it and walks back into the office as Michael’s digging through the candy jar. 

“Very clever back there, you know,” Ashton says, signing the lock checking sheet. “There's an art to be found in that.”

“In what?” Michael asks. 

When Ashton looks up, he’s fluttering his eyelashes flirtatiously as he sucks the sucker into his mouth. The way he’s doing it is so completely obvious, but his lips are red, and his bottom lip is pouty around the stem, and Ashton’s staring. “You know…” Michael lifts his eyebrows curiously and hollows his cheeks. Ashton stares, transfixed despite knowing how corny it all is. It’s a nice sight for a second, but then Michael sucks in just a bit too hard, inhaling the candy, choking on it when it hits the back of his throat. 

Ashton doesn't stop laughing until well after Michael's disappeared into the lobby to greet his guests. 

_7.41 pm_

Something seems off as Ashton’s delivering their catered Italian food to the game masters. Luke’s trying to balance a pen on his nose when Ashton places his porchetta in front of him, and Calum’s too focused on his screen to even register his spaghetti, which is all business as usual, but the real sign, what tells Ashton something’s off, is that Michael ignores Ashton completely, pouting his computer and disregarding the existence of his tiramisu. 

“What’s wrong, baby?” Ashton asks, pulling his hand away from the dessert he’s just placed down. “Did I do something to upset you?” 

“You've barely said anything to me today,” Michael mumbles, still not looking up. He crosses his arms over his chest, but stays sitting up straight. “I've only seen you in the office.” 

“Well I've got paperwork to file and guests to greet.” 

Michael rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” 

It’s not like Ashton’s been _intentionally_ staying away from Michael. That’s not something he’d ever do, always excited to be near Michael. He’s just had a lot of late players today, and he’s been running back and forth a lot - especially trying to sort through everyone’s messy paperwork. It’s not an excuse, though, he realizes. He should always make time for Michael. 

“He's been moping the entire day,” Calum pipes in, still not looking away from his monitor. “He threw a fit when you helped Luke reset his room.” 

“He was falling behind, Michael,” Ashton’s quick to defend. “I needed to help him so Calum wouldn't be delayed going into his next room.”

Still looking upset, Michael shrugs. He’s doodling aimlessly on his paper, his pen making various loops and lines across where he should be writing. “I don't want an excuse, I want action. You've said five words to me today, and I feel underappreciated.” Michael looks up at Ashton, bottom lip pushed out if only slightly. “I want some alone time with you.”

“Well… I’m supposed to be on lunch,”” Ashton starts, feeling like he has to make it up to Michael somehow. He pulls a chair over and ignores the way that Calum rolls his eyes. “But I think I can spare some time for you.” Michaels mouth ticks up, but he sighs, trying to cover it. It’s too late - Ashton caught it. 

“You have free will,” Michael says. “Don't stay if you don't actually want to be with me.”

As bad as he wants to roll his eyes, Ashton just smiles, refusing to let Michael manipulate him any further. “I always wanna be with you, baby. You can't keep me away.” Michael shrugs, not reacting much further, so Ashton picks up his fork, wanting to prompt Michael into just _reacting_. “Aren't you going to eat your dinner?”

“ _Dessert_ ,” Luke corrects from where he’s holding his entire entre on one fork, trying to fit it all into his mouth. 

Ashton ignores him completely, cutting a corner of the cake off and holding it out for Michael. “Open up for me.” There’s no hesitation as Michael opens up, his tongue wrapping around the fork as Ashton feeds him. They make it through a few bites before Michael’s mouth closes too soon, smearing some of the topping on the corner of his mouth. “You're so messy sometimes.” 

When Ashton wipes it with his thumb, Michael pulls the finger into his mouth, sucking, his tongue swiping the tiramisu away in a move that Ashton can’t help but imagine around the head of his cock. He watches, eyes lidded, as Michael stares at him knowingly. 

“Somehow this is worse than the whining,” Luke comments, staring openly at the show they’re putting on. 

Slowly, Ashton pulls his thumb free. When he does, Michael looks up at him through his thick eyelashes, but it’s somehow not as cheesy as earlier. This time it’s more charged. 

“Thank you…” It’s whispered, Michael biting his bottom lip afterward. The players in the room call for a hint, and Michael blinks, looking over and sending the clue. 

Not wanting to get pulled back in, Ashton leans forward and puts the fork down. “I'm going for lunch,” he announces. “I'll see you soon.”

Though somehow, his prosciutto risotto doesn’t seem nearly as appetizing as Michael’s tongue did just moments before. 

_11.48 pm_

It’s a quick night, heading home. Luke and Michael are closing together, meaning that Ashton doesn’t have to drive Luke. He can get home earlier and fall into bed easily. Sure he opens in the morning, but he won’t worry about that until the sun rises. 

He’s currently a mess of filing paperwork, and printing tomorrow’s schedule, wanting everything to go smoothly. When he finishes his work, he gathers the trash and is almost out the door when Michael grabs his wrist gently. “Hey…” 

“Hey, you okay?” Ashton’s forehead wrinkles in slight worry at the sincerity in Michael’s eyes. “What’s up?” 

“Promise I'll see more of you tomorrow?” And while Ashton has to remind himself this is all a part of the game, he can’t help but smirk at how soft and gently Michael sounds when he asks. 

“You'll just have to make me want it enough, baby.”

🔒

**Day Three**

_11.15 am_

For the first time in the history of _Escape!_ , they officially have a perfect week. There was a last minute booking into _Airplanes_ , meaning that every single room for this week is being played, not a single unbooked space. Ashton’s reworking the track he’d just finished, trying to make sure everybody’s break comes at a decent time for them. 

He’d gotten here early, Calum coming not shortly after, and they had the morning checklist finished quicker than usual. The entire store is all set up, so when Michael and Luke come running into the store, all giggles, Ashton doesn’t pay them any mind whatsoever, just continues his highlighting as they run back to the control room to put their personal items up in the cubbies.

They come back into the welcoming room less noisy, but still radiating an energy that Ashton refuses to let distract him. “Luke, I have you on the 6pm track, starting in _Vapor_ . Michael, you're on the 5.30 track, starting in _Voodoo Doll_.” 

“Sounds fun,” Michael says back, voice sounding close. Ashton just nods, picking up his pencil to write in the break times. He spares a thought to grabbing dinner orders soon, thinking it’d be smart to make sure he doesn’t forget. “Please dont ignore me again, Ash.” 

The pout in his voice is audible, but Ashton’s almost done, so he maintains his task. “Sorry, baby. I'm a little tied up right now.” 

“You could tie _me_ up,” Michael offers, and it’s funny enough to knock a chuckle out of Ashton. He looks up, only to be assaulted with the sight of Michael in a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, blinking up at Ashton. The grin slips from his face and his pencil snaps in his hand. Michael smirks, and Ashton _knows_ he’s lost this round. “I hope I'll see you more today.” He bites his lip through his grin and walks away. 

Ashton’s still pale and staring wide-eyed at the empty space when Calum walks over from the lobby. “Hey man,” he asks, taking hesitant steps to the counter. “You okay?”

“No.” 

_3.41 pm_

Calum’s yelling something from the lobby, and Michael’s laughing, the noise booming down the hallway, but Ashton doesn’t have it in him to reprimand them after getting through dealing with Luke’s impossible group of tweens. In all honesty, just getting out of the room is a success in itself, and he’s loath to ruin his victorious move just because Calum’s voice is loud, and Ashton can pick up the sound Michael’s giggles from a mile away. 

Walking into the office, Ashton catches sight of a strip of soft skin. Michael’s leaning against the counter, and his shirt is riding up slightly. Still feeling the burn of earlier, still loving the way the black frames look on Michael’s pretty face, Ashton gets an idea. He bites his lip and walks over. 

“Hold still for me, baby?” He asks, and Michael looks back at Ashton. He's smiling, but he looks confused, a wrinkle on the bridge of his nose, when Ashton gets right behind him. He uses his large palms to slide under Michael’s shirt, his thumbs go to the dimples at the bottom of his back, pushing in to tilt his ass up a bit. “Your waist is so small, isn't it?”

“Maybe your hands are just big,” Michael fights back, but he’s a little short of breath. He turns forward quickly, and Ashton admires the curve of his spine, how delicate he looks in Ashton’s grip. 

“They are.” He keeps Michael’s hips pushed out and lines his lower body up to him, touching just barely, but if Ashton added pressure, he thinks he could easily spend the next twenty minutes or so grinding against him. “Looks like I fit.” 

Calum walks back to the office as they're standing like that, and Michael startles, trying for a second to put some distance between them, but he’s flush against the counter, and Ashton isn’t going anywhere. Calum looks them over, his nose scrunched in disgust at their display. 

“…I hate this place.” 

Ashton grins, watching as he grabs a paper for his next room, seeming to be taking his time, prolonging how long he’s witness to their game. Michael’s gone lax in his grip, and as soon as Calum steps out of the door, he’s asking, “Do you want it bad enough yet?” 

“ _Ew_!”

Ignoring Calum’s still-eavesdropping interruption, Ashton says, “I don't think I want it nearly as bad as you do, baby.” He taps Michael’s waist and walks away, headed for the lobby to rebrew the coffee machine. 

_7.49 pm_

As Ashton’s sorting through the worksheets each game master has completed for the rooms in the past few hours, he comes across one from Michael that has him choking on his tongue and shoving it into a black folder, promising himself to talk to Michael about it later tonight. He tries to put it out of his mind, hoping his face isn’t too red after reading it. 

_12.16 am_

“Hey!” Ashton’s trying to clean up the office, but halfway through one of his papers disappeared. He yells across the welcoming room to where Michael's wiping down the games in the lobby. "Have you seen the lock checklist for _Castaway_?"

Michael pops his head out of the door, glasses still sitting as distractingly as ever on his face. "Have I seen what?" 

"The locks list for _Castaway_." He turns and resolutely doesn't look at Michael. He thinks he can do it later, when he puts a plan into action, but they have to finish closing, and Michael looks fucking _good._ "I had it on the counter, and - " 

"I put it away a few minutes ago," Michael tells him. "While you were cleaning the coffee pot." Ashton heads to the cabinet, and sure enough, it's sitting right in its place inside of the accordion folder. 

"Thank you, I love you." 

Michael laughs, slipping away, giving Ashton the space he needs to finish cleaning. He prints out the track schedule, leaving it completely unmarked for Luke to fill out when he and Calum open tomorrow. He shuts the computer down as Michael comes to the front, throwing the cleaning supplies up into the giant cabinet. 

"I have a question for you," Michael says suddenly. 

"Shoot."

“If you had to choose any one movie title to accurately describe me, Calum, and Luke, what would you pick?” 

Sucking air in between his teeth, a small whistling noise coming between them, Ashton shakes his head. “Oh that's a good one. Let me think.” It only takes him a moment to decide, announcing that, “Luke is of course _Dumb and Dumber_.” 

“Which one?” 

“Both,” Ashton decides. “He tends to out-stupid himself daily.”

Michael nods along. “I accept that. Now Calum.”

Calum’s a bit of a tough nut to crack. He’s weird in a good way, but detached in a bad way. “ _Dazed and Confused_.”

“That’s so similar to Luke’s,” Michael points out. “Pick another one!” 

“No.” It was tough enough coming up with those two, he doesn’t want to work even harder before he has Michael’s in mind. “They’re very similar, and it’s why their sex life is full of apologies.”

Michael laughs suddenly, the sound coming out like it took him by surprise. Ashton can’t help but grin, feeling confident suddenly at having Michael find his teasing funny. “Okay, what about mine?” And suddenly the answer comes to him. 

“Dirty, Pretty Things.” Ashton watches and Michael shakes his head, turning towards the counter where his stuff lies, not regarding Ashton’s answer other than a bit of pink lining his cheeks. As Michael's picking his backpack up, patting his pocket and nodding when the sound of his keys jingles, Ashton says, "Before you head out, I do have to talk to you as your boss for a second."

"Uh-oh," Michael teases. He's grinning, his front teeth showing just slightly, a test in restraint for Ashton to keep his face neutral. "Am I in trouble?"

Ashton shakes his head, picking his black folder up from where it's been resting under the keyboard for the past few hours. "I wouldn't say _trouble_ , but we do need to talk." And just like he'd planned, Michael begins to look worried. 

"Oh… should I sit down?" 

"No," Ashton shakes his head again. "I think you're good to stay there." He opens the folder up, placing it on the counter and pulling out Michael's note-taking paper that he'd stored away earlier. paper. Michael tries to look at the sheet, but he's too far away and just ends up awkwardly craning his neck. "I was organizing my paperwork earlier, and I saw this." Michael looks confused, so Ashton keeps going. "The question asked was ' _What hints did your team ask for?_ ' And you answered;" Ashton watches Michael's face fall when he realizes, and Ashton has to make an effort to hold in his smirk, feeling powerful. "' _I don't recall anything about my team. I couldn't even tell you if they escaped. All I was thinking about was Ashton bending me over the desk in the control room and making me beg for it. I thought about his long fingers and his strong grip, and it's a miracle I didn't start touching myself under the desk when he called me_ 'baby' _in my fantasy. I wish he knew how hard that gets me._ '" 

Ashton looks up and Michaels beet red. He clears his throat, trying to present a confident aura, but Ashton sees right through him. 

"What about it?" 

"You have to know this isn't appropriate," Ashton says. His voice is softer than it usually is when playing this game, but he likes how small Michael looks as he's getting talked down to. "What if Todd got a hold of it?" 

"Maybe he'd advise you to do something about it. _Punish_ me." 

And the visual of that, of punishing Michael for pushing dirty thoughts into Ashton's head is so fucking good. Ashton groans, licking his lips and pulling the corner into his mouth as he thinks it over. "I think maybe you'd like that too much." 

Michael blinks slowly. "Maybe I would."

When Michael steps forward, Ashton can feel how thick the air between them is, heavy and pulled taught. Not wanting to lose, Ashton pulls out a clean worksheet and places it on the counter. 

"Write a new one that I can _actually_ file," He says, keeping his eyes hardened, trying not to project just how charge this completely innocent moment is making him feel. Michael rolls his eyes and goes to the counter to write it. Ashton gets behind him, hand on his waist, chin on his shoulder as he watches, noticing how hard Michael's hand is shaking. As he puts clues, completely making them up as he goes, Ashton kisses where his neck meets his shoulder. "Think I might take your original paper home with me tonight." He sucks a little at the skin behind Michael's ear, and Michael's breath stutters out of him. "You're very detailed. Gave me some ideas."

Michael nods. "Perverse old man, you are," he mocks, but Ashton can hear the shake to it and shrugs. 

"You don't sound like you're complaining, baby."

"Never." 

Ashton smirks, leaning back and swiping his keys from the desk. "I'll see you tomorrow then, don't forget to lock up." He leaves quickly, feeling a bit too pent up to stay. As he passes the window, he sees Michael's head on the counter and feels hot all over. 

It's all a game, he has to remind himself yet again. 

🔒

**Day Four**

_12.43 pm_

Due to having a late shift tonight, Ashton allowed himself to sleep in quite a bit. He comes in more rested than he's ever been, a sleepy-soft smile on his lips and a coffee in his grip. He drops his bag and jacket in the cubby in the office and takes a glance at the schedule Luke worked out. It doesn't look like he played favorites with the breaks, but there's a heart next to Calum's name that makes Ashton smile. 

When he walks into the control room, Michael's at the tail-end of a joke that has Luke nearly honking in laughter. 

"Good morning, everybody," he greets, sipping from the gas-station coffee in his hand. 

"Morning?" Calum snorts. "It's well into the day. Why are you here so late?"

"I'm staying late to do most of the week's paperwork, so I'm not here until three in the morning like over Christmas." Calum shrugs, looking placated with the answer. 

At the end of every week, when Ashton sends his weekly report to Todd, he's usually here an hour later than usual. Hell Week has officially become the busiest week they've ever had. There's more to account for, and Ashton's not looking forward to it at all. If he knocks a solid three-quarters of it out now, it'll make tomorrow easier, quicker. Maybe he'll be out by one. 

"Wait," Luke interrupts, and when Ashton looks over to him, he has a green highlighter mark on his nose. "If you're staying late, who's driving me home?" 

_Shit_. It's supposed to be him and Luke tonight, closing together, and that means Ashton takes him home so he doesn't have to make an hour long commute on the bus. Ashton waves him off, promising himself to think it over today. "We'll work something out, Lukey. I've got you." Luke looks hesitant and goes back to his work of trying to juggle loose pencaps. Ashton turns his attention to where Michael's ignoring him. He runs his hands through Michael's hair, dropping his voice. "Thought of you last night."

Michael grins, looking far too confident for how last night went. "I'm sure you did." Ashton tugs his hair slightly before walking away, feeling something flutter inside him when he thinks about how Michael felt against him last night. 

_3.29 pm_

When players book their room, they're asked to show up twenty minutes before their start time to account for the instructional video and signing waivers. When groups show up _at_ their start time, it's chaotic enough, but it's ten past their start time, and Ashton's about to rip his hair out. He's walking up front from where he was pulling out a replacement prop for _Voodoo Doll_ when he sees a man leaning against the counter in the wall cutout, smirking at someone. Ashton's not sure who he could be smirking at when the only one up front is - 

_Oh_. 

He's smirking at Michael, and Michael's smiling back… Ashton isn't exactly loving it. "Hi, can I help you?"

The man looks over, is confused, buansmiles kindly anyway. "Uh… yeah. my family and I are here for - "

"Are you my 3.20 in _Vapor_ ?" Ashton knows he's coming off coldly, something he's learned better than to do in his three years at _Escape!_ , but he can't help the irrational anger building at seeing him talking to Michael. 

"Yeah, hey. Sorry we're a bit late." The man turns and grins pleasantly at Michael, voice completely changing tone. "It's hard being in charge of everyone. I just have that leadership mentality." 

"Right." Ashton rolls his eyes. If this is an attempt at flirting, he doesn't get it, doesn't see how this is appealing at all in a seductive kind of way. "Well, you're thirty minutes late, so please go to the lobby where Calum will help you prepare." 

The guy's smile drops. "Right…" 

As soon as he's gone, Ashton huffs, still strung up, feeling tense. Michael licks his teeth into a smirk. "Where should I draw the 'x'?" Ashton quirks his brow, confused. "Well you were marking your territory. I thought I'd help you out a bit." 

Ashton rolls his eyes again. He doesn't know why, but the idea of anybody else talking to Michael like he's free game, like he isn't Ashton's to play with, feels like daggers down his spine. "Go reset your fucking room."

"Yes, sir." When he passes by, Ashton slaps his ass. 

_6.43 pm_

The control room is empty save for Michael when Ashton goes in. Calum’s resetting his room, and Luke’s on break, which gives Ashton the perfect opportunity to take a seat next to Michael and ask him a question. 

First, though, he steals a french fry out of Michael’s take-out container.

“How are they doing?” he asks, remembering to actually do his job and check in. 

“Pretty good.” Michael glances at him through the corner of his eye. “Through the door on time, but they’re struggling with the in-flight video puzzle.”

“That’s a tough one.” Ashton nods, hissing through his teeth. “When I did a trial run of the room with Lukey, he almost started crying.” He remembers being locked in the room for an hour with Luke and Arnie, trying to figure out the in-flight video, and Luke took everything too harshly, pacing the room and trying to hold back his tears as they failed to solve the puzzle. 

“So a normal day?” 

Unable to hold in his laugh, Ashton agrees, “Exactly.” Michael grins and Ashton cant help but smile back. As much as they mess around, making flirty jokes and getting in each other’s faces for the fun of it, Ashton really appreciates having Michael around. He’s a hard worker, but he’s also just a good person to get Ashton out of his head. “So…” 

“So?” 

Michael doesn’t look over, too engulfed in his game, so Ashton takes an opportunity to steal a spoonful of mac and cheese. He hasn’t even pulled the spoon from his mouth when Michael catches him, looking over with glaring eyes. Ashton just smiles, a few of the noodles flashing behind his teeth. 

“Do you not have your own food?” Michael asks, sighing. He cradles his cheek in his hand. “Why do you have to eat mine?” 

Putting the spoon back in the container, swallowing his food to point out that, “You ordered french fries and mac and cheese. The two most-liked foods in the world.” Michael snorts.

“That’s objective.”

“The two most-liked foods in _my_ world, then.” Ashton clarifies leaning back in his seat. The group in the room still hasn’t found the chart hidden behind the painting on the wall to convert the numbers from the video into words, so Ashton knows they have a bit of time to talk. “You should have expected this. The fact that you didn’t is completely your fault. Make a better order next time.” 

Rolling his eyes, Michael looks to Ashton, asking, “What did _you_ order?” 

“Chicken salad.” Ashton says it without any shame, nodding proudly about his order. He almost asked for mac and cheese, but when Michael had mentioned it, Ashton figured he could steal some of that. Michael rolls his eyes, going back to watching the room struggle. They watch together a bit more, Michael acting fast to send them clues when they ask for them, before Ashton remembers he came back here for a reason. “Would you mind closing tonight instead of tomorrow?”

“I guess not.” Michael shrugs. “What’s up?”

“I’m staying late and can’t give Lukey a ride.” If Michael can’t close, then Ashton figures he can just come in early tomorrow. He doesn’t want to, but it might be his only option. “If you close, he can catch one with Calum tonight.”

Michael nods easily, letting Ashton breathe a sigh of relief. “Yeah no problem.”

“Perfect. I owe you.” It’s meant in a completely innocent way, but Michael smirks, and Ashton just laughs, knowing his mind is in the gutter and not completely hating it. 

_10.51 pm_

When Michael’s last room gets out, he has quite a bit of break time. Since he’s closing, he doesn’t have any rushed motivation to reset his room, seeing as he can’t slip out early regardless. Ashton has Michael host them for that precise reason as he gets a headstart on his weekly paperwork, wanting to be out no later than two in the morning. 

Halfway through typing out his summary for Tuesday night, his chair is pulled away from the desk. He squints confused, and he doesn’t get a chance to turn before Michael comes into view, immediately crawling into Ashton’s lap. 

“Oh, hello,” Ashton greets him, cocking his head in bemusement. “Funny running into you here.” 

Michael grins, hands going down to play with the hem of Ashton’s red _Escape!_ shirt. “Just wanted to say _hiii_ ,” he informs Ashton, his smile growing alongside his words. 

“Hi,” Ashton laughs, not giving as much excitement back with his voice, but letting his hands come down around Michael’s waist. “How was the last group? Did they give you any problems?”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle, I assure you.” He speaks offhandedly, like he doesn’t care about the topic. Ashton hums, his hands squeezing at Michael's waist, his hands wandering wherever he can reach. “So, we never talked about last night.”

“Didn’t we?” It’s a tease. Ashton knows full well he hasn’t gotten the time to talk about last night yet. Michael shakes his head. “Well I’m open to… talking. What are you thinking?” 

At first, Michael only bites his lip, but then he’s peeking at Ashton through his eyelashes. “You said you thought about me.” 

Ashton nods, letting his thumb slip under Michael's shirt and rub at the skin above his waistband. “I'm always thinking about you, baby.” Michael ducks his head, his hands playing with the bottom of Ashton’s shirt still, but his hands shake harder. “Can't stop when you're so pretty.” Michael smiles, something small that makes his cheek turn a little red. Ashton can never tell if he's _actually_ blushing or if he's just good at playing the game. 

“What were you thinking _about_?” Michael asks, not looking up. “What was I doing?”

Last night, alone in his room, Ashton wasn’t planning on thinking about Michael. He’d originally made the comment as a tease, but then he got to picturing Michael’s red lips, his pale neck, the way his cheeks get high when he laughs and his eyes turn dark when he’s turned on. After that, he was powerless to stop the images from flicking through his mind, from remembering how Michael had sounded begging in the office - he couldn’t keep from touching himself and visualizing it was Michael doing it. 

“It's just what you said in the note,” Ashton tells him honestly, figuring there’s no lie on the planet better than what he’d actually done. “Was thinking about bending you over the desk in the back and finally taking you the way you want me to.” Michael swallows, and Ashton can't help it - he keeps talking. “You're a bit of a handful, but you'd be good for me, wouldn't you?”

Michael shrugs, but Ashton can see the tremor that goes down his body. “I could be.” Michael's hand dips a bit too low, his finger tracing Ashton’s zipper, and Ashton’s hand wraps gently around his wrist. 

“Careful, now…” 

Michael just smirks. He gets his finger on Ashton’s button, poised to pop it, but then the door is opening, the bell _dinging_ above it, and the two of them fly apart, Michael crashing into the desk, his face absolutely crimson. Ashton’s sure he doesn't look much better. 

“Hi!” Michael shouts, his voice loud, an underlying shake that’s all too obvious. “Welcome to _Escape!_. I'm really sorry, but we're all booked up for rooms this week.” 

“We don’t know if we want to play,” a voice answers, and Ashton looks up to see three middle-aged women smiling from the welcoming room, looking around curiously. “We were just wanting to know what all this is about.” 

“Absolutely!” Michael gestures behind him to where Ashton’s still sitting in the chair, legs spread and face flushed. “My manager here would love to help you out with that.”

Ashton clears his throat and stands up, letting Michael take off towards the control with his head angled down. “Good evening, folks. Have any of you ever heard of an escape room?” They shake their heads, and Ashton lets out a shaky breath. 

This may take a while. 

🔒

**Day Five**

_9.56 am_

Even though he stayed well until two-thirty at the store last night, Ashton still ends up coming in early. As they were closing last night, Michael noticed the snack shelf was incredibly low, so Ashton’s at the grocery store before he heads in to open with Calum to make sure they have enough to get them through tonight and all of next week. 

It’s not until Ashton’s loading the bag that he notices he bought double of Michael’s favorites - not intentionally, though. He can’t help it if as he was grabbing things off the shelves he remembered how pretty Michael’s eyes are when they light up seeing pocky and animal crackers in the basket. 

It doesn’t mean anything… 

_2.18 pm_

“As soon as the door is shut behind me, the video will start.” Ashton’s standing in the doorway, setting Luke’s team up in _Vapor_ . He’s helping out as best as he can with this late group, but they’re irritating him to no end, already looking around for clues even though the video hasn’t started to tell them what they’re looking for. “Pay close attention, there may be a clue in there for you. When the video ends, your time will start _immediately_. Good luck, have fun, and we'll see you in sixty minutes - maybe even less.” 

Still fucking around, the group smiles, and Ashton closes the door a bit harder than necessary, still not satisfied, even with the tremor that goes through the wall at his slam. He can hear the players looking around for clues, not paying attention, and he’s positively fuming when he walks up front. Michael’s putting his reset papers away, and he jumps at Ashton’s loud entrance. 

“Hey.” Michael’s frowning at Ashton, standing tensely at the cabinet with papers in his hand. Ashton doesn’t reply, and Michael puts his worksheets down, walking over to where Ashton’s standing by the door. “Are you alright?”

“No, I’m fucking _not_ ,” he bites, unable to stop it when it’s been a long, difficult week and every group today has been a pain in his ass. “I’m getting sick of people being late and _rude_. They paid like fifty bucks for a three-hundred dollar room, and they’re being dicks, showing up way past their reservation time. It’s fucking - ”

It’s been a lot today. He’s rambling, panting, wanting to just fucking _do_ something, already as tense and angry as he can get, but when Michael reaches out to pinch Ashton’s nipple - something that would’ve been fine on a better day - Ashton snaps. He grabs Michael’s hands and pushes them to the wall behind him. He leans in, resting his forehead against a wide-eyed, slack-jawed Michael, breathing heavily and letting his voice drop. 

“I'm going to need you to not push me over the edge today, baby,” he warns. “I don't want to have to put you in your place.” 

His hands tighten around Michael’s wrists, and Michael makes a soft noise in his throat that hits Ashton hard, makes him want to fuck Michael against the wall. At first he thinks it’s just about stress relief, about needing to work off this angry energy, but then he sees Michael’s green eyes - lidded and shining - and _fuck_ … 

He clears his throat, letting Michael go and stepping back. “Sorry…” 

“Don’t be.” Michael grins, rubbing at his wrists, walking off towards the control room, and Ashton thinks he really needs a day off to get himself out of his head. 

For a moment back there, and not for the first time this week, Ashton felt _want_ , more than just the sexual attraction he usually has. He felt himself aching to kiss Michael, to romance him… he’s definitely been here too long. 

_4.02 pm_

It seems the players are all trying to outdo themselves with their stupidity, as though there’s a contest for who can piss Ashton off the most. 

Just as things were getting easier, and the groups started showing up on time, Ashton got an emergency message from ‘ **Voodoo_Doll** ’ telling him that his players broke the vase in the room. And sure, they have a back up, but it's expensive, something that shouldn’t have to be replaced. It's also _very_ obvious it doesnt need to be broken, but Ashton shouldn’t have expected anybody in this store to have any common sense today. 

He walks to the office, angry as hell, but in the lobby there's a little girl, tears in her eyes, standing next to where her mother is talking to michael 

“ - just scared,” the mother is saying, and Michael frowns, a worried crease over the bridge of his nose forming. “I think we might need to cancel.”

Ashton slips into the office to eavesdrop, hoping Michael can persuade them to stay. They have a _perfect_ week scheduled. If there's a cancellation, it'll be fine financially, but they _really_ need this record. Running a perfect week with just four employees would be spectacular - it’d set a standard for years to come, and if Ashton ever ventures out and looks for employment elsewhere, it would leave a legacy. 

“If you want to cancel or reschedule, we'd be more than happy to do that,” Michael’s explaining, and Ashton peeks through the cutout in the wall to see what’s happening. “But the room isn't scary, I can tell you that.” 

“B-but zombies!” 

Giggling at the girls outburst, Michael ducks down so they’re eye level. “What’s your name?” 

“Gigi,” she whispers. 

“Hi Gigi, I’m Michael.” He sticks his hand out and Gigi’s puts her tiny palm to it, shaking it. “I am the _biggest_ scaredy-cat in the world. My friend Calum even won't hang out with me at _all_ in October because all of the terrifying decorations are too much for me.” Ashton grins at the delicate way he’s handling it, trying not to start laughing at the idea of Calum turning down Michael because a skeleton might scare him. “I still sleep with bedroom light on most nights, and do not even _think_ about mentioning ghosts to me.” 

Gigi watches him for a moment before smiling, teasing him with, “… boo.” It’s whispered and gentle, but Michael still gasps, leaning back exaggeratedly. 

“You scared me!” He tells her, and she giggles. “I promise you that _Vapor_ isn't even close to being scary. I go in that room three times a day at _least,_ and I don't even shake a little bit.”

“And the zombies?” 

“There are no zombies,” he answers honestly. “You're in a science lab, looking at different animals, and doing a few puzzles.” 

Somehow, it looks like that was the magic word. Gigi lights up, glancing to where her mom is looking down with a soft smile. “I like puzzles!” 

“I thought you might,” Michael nods. “You look really smart.” 

Gigi smiles up at her mom, her hand coming to tug gently st the leg of her jeans. “Do you want to go in?” her mom asks, and Gigi nods, hiding her face in the denim of her pants. “We'll go finish signing up then.” 

“Awesome!” Michael stands up and gestures towards where they have theiPads set up on the wall with the waivers. “And don’t forget to think of a super cool team name, Gigi!” 

“I won’t…”

Once they’re preoccupied with signing in, Michael makes his way down to the control room to set up his station, and Ashton watches him go with a smile. It was really sweet, the way he reassured Gigi, something warm lighting Ashton up inside, similar to the way it’s been doing all this week, and maybe even a little before that. Maybe since they met, even, Ashton thinks, because there’s nothing _new_ about the way he feels, nothing crazy or innovative, he just - 

Oh _fuck_ … 

He likes Michael. 

_5.45 pm_

Ashton doesn't get time to dwell on his revelation of his feelings because there's too much to do. It seems having an easy Hell Week was far too much to ask, and now he's miserable, about to punch a customer in the face. At this point, he’s definitely willing to lose his job over this. 

During their time in _Vapor_ , the woman currently testing Ashton’s patience - alongside her group - was disruptive and aggressive. They broke two props and a _lock_ , something never seen before here. Sometimes locks get reset on a wrong password or jammed, but Ashton’s never beared witness to one being snapped in half. Now the woman in question is yelling at Ashton, demanding a refund, something he definitely isn't doing - not for any group, but _especially_ not for her. 

“I'm just saying,” the woman argues, her tone brash and nose stuck up in the air. “You advertised a high tech room, and that’s what we were expecting. Instead we had a telescope and some combination locks.” 

Sure, the website does advertise high tech puzzles, and _Vapor_ only has two tech pieces in it, but it’s also the clearance room, so it’s not meant to be as impressive - it’s meant to be economically suitable for the public. If they’d put more technology into it, they’d have to charge more. Ashton won’t tell her that, though. He’s past wanted to explain, and now he just wants to yell. 

“With all do respect, ma'am,” Ashton precedes his statement with very little respect. “Of all the escape rooms in the city, ours has more individual advanced puzzles. Additionally, you rented a spot in our cheapest room, which has the least technological puzzles. We cannot refund you.” 

“You can, and you _will_.” 

As Ashton’s rolling his eyes at being told what he’s going to do, the bell above the door _dings_ with the entrance of a new group. It’s up to Ashton to greet them, but they’ll have to wait. “We cannot, he repeats. “You bought it on a nonrefundable seventy-five percent off sale.”

The woman narrows her eyes. “I'd like to speak to a manager.”

“Yes, hello.” Ashton nods, turning slightly to point at the writing on the back of his t-shirt that reads ‘DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS.’ “That is me, my answer remains the same.” Hes so fucking over this, he just wants to go home, but the drama never ends. 

The woman slams her hand on the counter. “I will _not_ be disrespected like this in front of my family and these strangers.”

“Then I suggest you leave because we have proof of three broken items in your room, and unless you like us to charge you for that, then I believe our conversation is over.”

“This isn't over,” the woman huffs. “I'm going to review you into the ground.” 

“I’m sure you will.” He makes it very clear that he doesn’t care, making bored eye contact with every person that walks out the door. When the door closes, Ashton throws his head in his hands. He allows himself to groan for a moment, and then looks up where the new arrivals are watching him. “I’m so sorry about that display, and thank you for your patience. If you'll head into the lobby, Calum will be with you shortly.” They all nod, making their way over, looking sorry for him, and he just wants to cry. 

After a moment, there’s a hand on his back and he jumps. He looks back to see Michael with his arm extended, biting his lip. “Forgive me if I'm reading the signs wrong, but I think you might be a bit pent up, might need to relax a little.” When Ashton doesn’t respond, Michael raises an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

“No,” Ashton sighs, rolling his eyes at the idea of getting to relax before this workday kills him. “But we're only halfway through the day, and I may punch a customer if - ”

“I'm on break in fifteen,” Michael says, cutting him off. He grabs his papers and makes eye contact with Ashton. “Let me go reset my room, and then I can help you out.” 

“Listen, today's a fucking wreck, and I don't have time for these - ”

Michael cuts him off, biting, “ _Ashton_ ,” and Ashton huffs. “Fifteen minutes, okay?” With a hesitant nod, Ashton lets Michael go reset ihis room and sits too stiffly on the stool as he waits for fifteens to pass quickly. 

_6.06 pm_

Ashton thinks something might be happening. 

The office is too quiet as Michael flits around, his face slightly red as he looks at Ashton from the corner of his eye, biting his lip when he notices he’s being watched. Ashton stares openly as he finishes organizing his things before clearing his throat, grabbing his keys, and taking Ashton’s hand in his own. 

“What are we - ”

Not letting him finish, Michael says, “Just come on.” His voice is calm if not just a little breathy. It’s a bit odd, Ashton will admit. Usually there's a bit more fire behind him, usually he’d be barking at Ashton to shut up. 

They walk out of the store together, hand in hand, and curve around the back of the building, making their way to the staff and overstock parking lot. There are a few cars that don’t belong to Escape! room employees back here, but it’s relatively secluded. They approach Michael’s SUV, and Ashton’s confused. “How is this helping me?”

“You'll see,” Michael grins. He lets go of Ashton's hand to open the backdoor and he gestures inside. 

It’s getting dark out, and the backseat isn’t exactly _big_ , making everything seem so much more ominous than it’s probably meant to be. “Are you going to murder me?”

Michael smiles, but doesn't answer the questions. “Just get in.” 

After hesitating for a moment, Ashton ends up getting into the car because they only have so long before another group gets out, and Ashton’s going to be fueled with anger again, so he sighs and gets in, taking a seat in the middle of the bench. 

He's not expecting Michael to join him, and he’s _definitely_ not expecting Michael to climb on top of Ashton so he’s straddling him. It’s almost second nature to just put his hands around Michael's waist. “Why - ”

Michael shushes him. “It’s been a long week, you’re very stressed, and things between us have been…” Michael’s hands come up and finger at Ashton's collar. “You say it’s a joke a lot, you tell Calum and Luke it means nothing, but…” His finger goes down Ashton's covered chest until his hands are on the bottom of his shirt again. “If you want to fuck me, if that’s something - ” He takes a deep breath. It’s clear he’s not used to putting himself out there like this, that he’s a little nervous of Ashton’s opinion. “If that’s something you’re _actually_ interested in.” His hand slips ever so under Ashton’s shirt. “This is me saying…” He looks up from under his eye leashes, whispering, “ _Please_.” 

And Michael has to _know_ how he looks, fucking _begging_ for Ashton to fuck him in the backseat of his car in the middle of work. Even if Ashton hadn’t realized his feelings for Michael, he’d be too weak to say no, but now… It’s hot, and Ashton can’t, he doesn’t, he - 

He leans forward and kisses Michael. Michael makes a victorious noise and kisses back. But then Ashton pulls back. “Wait…What about the rooms?” 

“I don’t have to be back in for another…” He checks his phone. “Twenty-seven minutes. I have an alarm set, and I’m more than capable of opening myself up for you.” He says it casually, like he wasn’t just talking about fingering himself in front of Ashton, getting himself ready for Ashton’s cock, like he didn’t just give Ashton the best visual of his fucking life. “Let me help you relax.”

“ _Yeah_?”

Still a bit confused, Ashton watches with half-lidded eyes, hoping this isn't all in his imagination, and Michael nodding as he bites his bottom lip is a real, true thing occuring as he’s offering to let Ashton fuck him through his stress. 

“It’s actually very selfish of me,” Michael tells him. “I’m doing this because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.” He stretches over a bit and reaches into the pocket of the driver’s seat chair, coming out with a half-full bottle of lube. “You being stressed is just my excuse to finally make it happen.”

“How convenient of you to keep that there,” Ashton teases, laughing slightly as Michael's cheeks turn red, looking down. 

“You called me pretty last night.” Michael starts unbuttoning his pants, pulling them off. He’s half hard and Ashton’s eyes are stuck. Everything’s happening so fast, and he really can’t complain. “I refused to come unprepared.”

And for some reason, Ashton loves the idea that it wasn’t the suffocating sexual tension or multiple advances he made that had Michael rushing to stock his car with lube - it was _one_ comment. Sure, Ashton was honest with it - Michael’s one of the prettiest people he’s ever met - but it still hits hard

“You like compliments then?” He asks, noting that when his voice gets deep and his questions sound a bit mocking, Michael gets more enthusiastic. He nods, repositioning himself on Ashton's lap. He’s making himself busy, popping open the lube and pouring some on his fingers. Ashton thinks he might be avoiding eye contact, and that makes it even hotter. “You like hearing all about how distracting you are to me, baby? How I can hardly do my job when all I'm thinking about is your pretty mouth, and how good your lips look curling around my name?” 

“ _Ash…_ ” 

“Just like that,” Ashton groans. Michael keeps his head down, but with a tight grip on his jaw, Ashton pulls his eyes up. “Why don’t you open yourself up for me? Show me how good you can be.” 

Michael moves his lube-slick fingers behind him, and a moment later he’s sliding one in. Ashton leans in and kisses the pinched look off his face. He slips his tongue in, hand reaching down to grab Michael’s dick, to stroke him through it. Michael sighs. 

“How does it feel?”

Shaking his head, Michael’s lips part on Ashton’s cheek. “Not enough. Gonna - ” He breathes out heavy, putting his head on Ashton's shoulder. Ashton assumes he added another finger when he thrusts harder in Ashton’s tight grip. 

“Next time, I don’t want the car, baby.” Ashton’s rambling. His own dick is throbbing in his tight jeans, and he wants nothing more than to slip it inside Michael, to feel how tight and hot he is inside. “I want to lay you out and do this myself.” 

“ _Yeah_.” Michael gasps something small and his dick kicks in Ashton’s grip. 

“How many are in there?” 

MaPantingning, Michael answers, “Three, I - I’m almost ready.” 

Shocked and a little worried at how quickly he’s opening himself up, Ashtons eyebrows jump. “That’s… Are you sure we’re not moving too fast? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“I thought of _you_ last night,” Michael says, shaking his head. He leans up and kisses Ashton. “This is nothing right now.” 

When it sinks in, the fact that Michael fingered himself to the thought of Ashton last night, Ashton scrambles, picking his hips up, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them down. He’s so fucking hard already, and thinking about Michael alone in bed, fucking hismelf on his fingers to the thought of Ashton is too fucking much. 

“Condom?”

Michael laughs breathlessly at Ashton’s hurried movements. “In the chair.”

Ashton reaches inside and, sure enough, there’s a box of condoms, unopened. A receipt falls to the floor below it, like Michael stopped at the store to buy it specifically for Ashton. “God, you really were ready for me to fuck you.”

“I’m a slut,” Michael shrugs. “What can I say?”

He pulls his fingers out as Ashton's putting the condom on. He wipes his hand on his shirt, clearing them of the lube, and Ashton gasps when he sees the residue it leaves behind, ruining his work shirt, something he needs to wear for the rest of his shift. “Michael, your - ”

Michael looks down and sees lube smeared on the logo and shrugs. “I have my spare in the back.” 

It’s convenient, but Ashton _doesn’t_ have a spare nearby. He bites his lip and takes his own off. “Just in case,” he justifies, but Michael only smirks. 

“I’m _not_ complaining.” His hands trace down Ashton’s torso, working their way down, down, down, and Ashton releases a shaky breath when Michael wraps his hand around Ashton’s hard, condom-sheathed cock. 

“ _F-fuck_.” 

“So big, Ash,” Michael hums, tracing his finger around the head. Ashton’s stomach trembles with the light pressure. “No wonder you walk around so smug all the time.”

“Not as smug as you do.” 

Michael grins, leaning forward and kissing Ashton once. “I’m about to get a lot worse when I get what you promised me.” Ashton quirks a brow, and helps Michael maneuver himself so he’s just above Ashton. Together they rest his dick at Michael’s entrance, and he slowly lowers himself down. “ _Oh”_

“Fuck, you’re - ”

Michael nods, taking a deep breath and dropping a little lower. Ashton moans out, fingers grasping harder at Michael's sides, digging into skin while Michael inches down agonizingly slow. It has Ashton biting down on his bottom lip while Michael is licking at his, mouth open and shiny with spit that Ashton’s pretty sure is mixed with his own.

For a moment Ashton can’t believe this is actually happening; he’s in awe at the fact that this fucking magnificent guy he’d been in denial about lusting over for an entire goddamn year is currently sitting pretty on his lap, looking completely blissed out with his eyes closed and cherry-red lips parted. He’s letting out these soft little whimpers when he starts rolling his hips, picking up a slow rhythm, and Ashton grabs at the fleshy part of his thighs, mesmerized at the way the skin feels beneath his fingertips and how Michael's hands glide down his chest, over his own legs so that he can cover Ashton’s fingers with his and they can lace them together.

He starts riding Ashton proper then, a nice and constant steady rotation of his hips that has Ashton sliding in and out of him brilliantly. It might be a bit too quick, but they don’t have too much time, and it’s been a long year leading up to this. 

The look on Michael's face is something Ashton wants etched into his memory forever; something in the way he looks entirely at ease, like this is heaven and he’s totally okay with dying now.

“ _Baby_ ,” Ashton groans when Michael drops down, his ass swallowing Ashton’s cock, his muscles squeezing around him expertly. “You feel so good.”

Fingers unweave from Ashton’s and skip across tight skin, sliding up over his shoulders until they’re pressed into the headrest besides Ashton’s head, and Michael is arching over him. Hot breaths mix and fuse together, and Ashton can’t decide if he wants to taste Michael or watch him, too in love with both soft eyelashes and a pouty cupid’s bow to choose. He settles on burying himself into Michael's neck instead, nuzzling into the expanse of the exposed throat in front of him and letting his mouth linger over the skin, just close enough so that his lips barely graze Michael's Adam’s apple when he opens his mouth to speak.

The words never come though, because Michael is groaning deep enough in his chest that Ashton can feel the vibrations of it against his own. He shuffles in front of Ashton and then presses their foreheads together, kissing him roughly and hurriedly with his tongue and mumbling into his mouth, little incantations of ‘ _fuck_ ’ and ‘ _so good_ ’ and’ _please fuck me_ ’ that Ashton can barely make out.

The last phrase, however, hits him loud and clear and he takes a firm hold of Michael's ass, shoving him up so he’s hovering above Ashton and has halted all motions, unable to move even if he wanted to.

Michael ruts against him, whimpering at the loss of all sensation with only the crown of Ashton’s cock buried in him, and he pants to calm himself. Ashton waits until Michael's eyes close and his tongue darts out to lick his lips before fucking up into him, forcing his eyes wide again. The air gets caught in his throat and he stalls all breathing for just a second, just until Ashton holds him in place. 

“Gonna let me use you, pretty?” Ashton asks, and Michael cries out softly. “Let me fuck you like you’ve been begging for?” 

“ _Please_.” Michael’s cock hangs heavy between them, the shiny pink tip smearing precome over Ashton’s belly button with every jerk, and Michael throws his head back when Ashton begins to drive into Michael - deeper and harder - good enough that he goes weak and loses all strength, collapsing against Ashton’s chest.

The hands on Michael’s ass skate up to the small of his back, and Ashton wraps his forearms around him, nipping at his chin while Michael's hands move to caress the sides of Ashton’s face, thumbs digging into sharp cheekbones. He takes turns kissing and moaning into Ashton’s mouth, pausing every few seconds to exhale with soft shivers and start it all over again.

“Fucking- _fuck_ , Ashton,” Michael grunts when Ashton manages to angle himself right over Michael's prostate, driving into it repeatedly when he realizes he’s found it, judging by the screwy look Michael makes where his eyes are almost crossed and his eyebrow tightens. “Please don’t stop.”

Michael grates himself back against Ashton’s cock, swiveling his hips in these little circular motions as he fucks him that drive Ashton wild, crazed and feral as he pushes his tongue into Michael's mouth and kisses him. The sound of Ashton’s thighs slapping against Michael's ass fill the quiet of the car, painfully loud in a way that should be embarrassing, especially in a public parking lot at their place of employment and the chance of anyone walking by to hear being very possible.

Yet with the sweat on his brow, his clammy fingertips pressing bruises into Michael's ass, and the hot gasps between them, Ashton can’t find it in him to care.

Not when Michael is biting down on Ashton’s bottom lip, swollen with kisses, and definitely not when his moans raise a pitch higher and his body tenses. Ashton feels Michael's knees squeeze into the sides of his hips, just before the shudders rack over his body. The feeling of wetness between their chests comes immediately after, and it takes Ashton a second to realize that holy fuck, he’d just made Michael come without being touched, and the sight of it was beautiful, the pale boy trembling and churning above him as he rides out his orgasm, cheek to cheek with Ashton, sighing happily in his ear. 

The sight alone could have done it for him; just watching Michael let go and shiver from the shockwaves going through his body was enough to tip Ashton over, but it’s almost like Michael wants to torture Ashton, because instead of sitting up or staying limp or doing literally anything else, he stays put and lingers over Ashton’s ear.

“Want you to come,” he slurs, hot breath splashing over Ashton’s skin and sending tingles down his neck in tiny waves. “You’re so good, fucked me so good, Ash, please. Want it.”

And _there_ it is. That does it. 

Ashton digs his heels into the floor of the car and stills inside of Michael, letting the relief soak through him as he spills into the condom and more or less growls into Michael's neck.

They sit silent on one another, exhaustion taking over with every little breath of air they try to catch. Michael raises to his knees a few seconds later, far enough so that Ashton slips out of him and he can slowly maneuver his way to sit next to him on the bed, thighs sore and adrenaline still pumping through his veins.

Ashton’s hands quickly find Michael’s face, holding him gently and kissing him deeply. When Michael pulls back to breathe, their foreheads still touching, Ashton runs his thumb along Michael’s cheekbone. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

As easy as ever, Michael grins, and if his entire face wasn’t flushed, Ashton thinks it’d maybe turn red. He kisses him again, just because he can, holding Michael tight against him. 

Not long after, Michael’s alarm sounds, beeping repeatedly in the humidity of the backseat. Michael laughs breathlessly, reaching to the seat next to them and picking his phone up. “Five minutes until we have to be presentable.”

Ignoring the pressing issue of getting back to work, Ashton lays kisses to the base of Michael’s neck. He travels them up until they're making out again, not afraid to be selfish, to take control, when he’s finally getting what he’s wanted. 

But then Michael pushes him away giggling, taking his red shirt off, covered in lube and cum. He flips it inside out and wipes them both down haphazardly, only doing a well enough job to get them through the shift. 

They get dressed quickly and spray themselves with some cologne Michael had hidden away in his glove box. He grabs his spare uniform shirt from the trunk, and the two head inside, barely making it in enough time.

Calum’s in the office as the bell above the door _dings_ and he gives them a knowing look immediately. “Nice shirt, Michael,” he teases. “Wasn't it red before?” 

At the same time Michael and Ashton look down to see him wearing the black _Escape!_ Shirt. It’s not bad that he’s wearing it, but it _is_ apparent that it’s not what he was wearing earlier. Michael looks up with a smirk. “It's white now.” 

“TMI, asshole.” Calum cringes, looking away from the door. He points to the lobby and says, “Your room is ready to go in.” Michael heads over, after letting his hand linger against Ashton’s, to take his players into the room. 

Through the rest of their shift, everything seems fine between them. They’re both normal, but there’s significantly less flirting between them, and Ashton hopes it’s because they both know that this is going somewhere, and the need to be obvious about it is nonexistent. There’s still a small part of him fearful that without the tension between them, they won’t be the same, and that they won’t do this again.

Or even worse, that they won’t get to be together. 

🔓

With Calum and Luke’s begrudging help on their days off, Ashton turns his spare bedroom into a mini escape room to ask Michael out - for _real_. He says yes, of course, only slightly upset that there weren’t any high-tech puzzles. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Comments are always appreciated 
> 
> [Come talk to me on Tumblr!](http://fourdrunksluts.tumblr.com)


End file.
